A shadow in the dark
by writingwillow
Summary: Mellanie, a new student at Ashford academy is antisocial and mysterious. So why does she seem to know so much about what's going on. Starts in the year between seasons one and two, rated for later chapters. Rolo x OC Up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. This story starts in the year before Lelouch regains his memories.**

Exhausted, Mellanie walked back to her bedroom, tomorrow she started at Ashford academy, tonight she needed to get some sleep. From now on she would really have to start keeping up appearances. She grimaced as her sore body hit the cushions, wondering why she didn't just give up already.

As she closed her eyes she knew the reason in her mind, she heard herself screaming, she could see the man that wasn't her father as he grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes, he was completely stotic, unfeeling even as she knew her eyes were red as hot tears streaked down her face. She had been unable to look away, her voice faded to a hoarse whisper as she continued to beg, even knowing she would be sent away, she just wanted to see her friend one more time, wanted to be able to tell him good bye, to promise that they would see each other again someday. She hadn't lasted long once she looked in his eyes, she passed out, and when she woke up, she was here, Japan, area 11 now, but it was still Japan.

Mellanie woke up just as the sun began to peek through her curtains. Forcing her aching body out of the bed she quickly washed and dressed in her new uniform. Forgoing breakfast, she was out the door, walking to her new school, hoping the short walk would give her enough time to wake up.

When she got to the school she walked to class, not bothering to stop or talk to anyone, the less people who knew her, the less chances people would find out what she was doing. She had already gained a small following in the poorer districts where the Japanese lived, mostly among young children. Thankfully most of what she did was attributed to Zero. Even with Zero supposedly dead.

School was nearly over; Mellanie was on her way to her last class when she saw something that nearly gave her a heart attack. Without a second thought she turned to see if she could spot him again, but he was lost in the crowd. She had to force herself not to go after him. Still, she smiled, if he really was at this school, the first part of her search was over, next she had to find a way to make him remember her. Still, that was only if he was at the school. She would have to wait until after class to make sure.

When class was finally over Mellanie was one of the first out the door. She had been completely unable to think of anything but the boy she had seen between classes, praying that it really was her lost friend. She bolted down the hallway in the direction she had seen him going, hoping that he would still be nearby. In her mind she argued whether or not she should just sneak in that night and steal the surveillance tapes. It would be simpler, she would know for sure if it was him, and if she got into the school's computer systems she could even get his schedule, and possibly change hers to match.

While she was considering it she slowed down to walking still, with her mind occupied with her problems, she didn't notice when someone came out of the room in front of her.

Mellany winced and looked up at the boy she had bumped into apologetically. When she saw who it was she cringed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

Mellanie stood up and looked into Lelouch's scowling face. He was probably the last person she had expected to see here, much less to run into face first. He looked just as surprised as she did, thankfully he didn't seem to recognize her.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't see you." She said standing up, ignoring the hand he offered her. He tried smiling at her. She smiled back slightly and moved to step out of his way when she noticed the boy standing behind him looking directly at her.

"Is everything alright big brother?" the boy asked looking back at Lelouch.

Mellanie felt her heart throb at the sight of him, and tear with the realization that he really had forgotten her. She smiled at him instead.

"Sorry to have bothered you, I'll just get out of your way." She said brightly, stepping away from the door. For a moment Lelouch seemed to appraise her before he stepped through the door leading Rolo away.

She waited there as they walked away. Her heart ached and she wanted to cry. Nearly a decade of searching, all that time and everything that had happened, he didn't even spare her a second glance, didn't remember her at all.

They hadn't gotten more than a few steps away from her when a boy with dark blue hair rounded the corner behind them and called out to his friends.

"Hey, Lelouch!" he called running over to them. He smiled at her nervously as he passed but stopped short, nearly tripping himself when he looked at her. "Jeez," he said looking back up at her in astonishment.

"What did you want Rivalz?" Lelouch asked walking back over to them. Realizing how awkward the situation could become, Mellanie bowed to Lelouch and Rolo and turned to leave, but she was stopped by Rivalz before she could.

"Hey who are you?" the boy asked looking at Mellanie in astonishment, seeming to have forgotten about Lelouch. Taking a calming breath she turned with a disarming smile.

"I'm sorry, my name is Mellanie Adams," she said, her voice laced to sound sweet and innocent.

"Are you guys related or something?" Rivalz asked looking between Mellanie and Lelouch. It wasn't a difficult assumption Mellanie was thin with purple eyes and black nearly straight hair. In short she looked almost exactly like Lelouch, if Lelouch had long hair and moderate breasts. Lelouch looked the girl over again, this time noting their similarities.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Mellanie answered him politely. "I have no family in the area." She started to back away again, trying not to look at Rolo, but they didn't seem to notice.

"How do you know Lelouch?" he asked confused.

"I don't" she answered quickly, once again trying to back away from them. It almost looked like it was going to work until Rivalz came up with an idea.

"Hey, why don't you come back to the student council room with us, I'm sure Milly and Shirley would like to meet you." He said noticing Lelouch's look of annoyance too late.

"Sure," she said mockingly, "Here's a girl with no relevance to anything whatsoever, just thought we'd bring her along with us." She once again tried to get away from them before they responded to what she said. She didn't get far before she noticed Rivalz following her.

"If you don't know Lelouch why where you there talking to him?" he pestered.

"I ran into him," she explained as she closed her eyes and took a breath in annoyance. She didn't realize he hadn't understood until she noticed him watching her expectantly. "I literally ran into him, apologized and was about to leave when you arrived." As soon as she said it she looked at him sharply and walked away down another hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

This was definitely not going as planned. Ever since Mellanie had run into Lelouch's friend Rivalz she'd had to dodge the student council. Worse yet, it seemed Rolo was part of that council. She couldn't get close enough to him to try to jog his memory and still stay far enough from all the other students that no one could notice anything strange about her.

Besides it was hard enough just staying outside the range of the student council, but she was also spending her nights running around playing super hero for the Japanese. She couldn't help but grin a bit at herself; she would bet anything that she would replace Santa Clause for the kids fifty or so years after she died. The only real problem with that statement was that she didn't come just one day a year.

The great part about it was that, other than the royal britanians and some Japanese children, no one even knew about 'the shadow'. Britanian royalty knew about her because that's who she messed with, who she had grown up messing with. The children knew about her because that's who benefited. Of course her actual aim wasn't nearly as selfless, someone might as well benefit from her 'terrorism' in the meantime.

She tapped nervously at her leg while she listened to the meaningless student council babble from where she was hiding. She already knew something was wrong. There were only a few possible explanations for Rolo being in Ashford, and acting as Lelouch's 'brother' limited those further. She studied Lelouch's face closely for a few minutes, realizing he probably wasn't aware of everything that was going on around him. And she realized apathetically that it didn't bother her nearly as much as it probably should that his memory had obviously been altered, but at the thought, unbidden came that face from the depths of her memory. Her jaw tightened and she clenched her fists as the man that had done all of this to her swam through her memory.

When the student council left, she crept slowly out of her hiding place. The costume she used as the shadow hid her face and body, even her hair was tucked into the outfit so that she was completely anonymous. She never even spoke as the shadow, so that no one would be able to place her voice, or even know if she was male or female. She made a quick copy of the council's files onto an empty file she had brought with her before slipping out of the building where she wouldn't be noticed.

She stopped running when she was about a quarter of a mile from the school. She was certain that Rolo would have a surveillance team, cameras set up at least throughout the school. So there was no doubt that the shadow would be brought back into stark relief. She had quieted down severely since she'd been abandoned in here, she had never stopped, but she was fairly certain that her level of terrorism was such that the royal family of Britania could easily ignore her. Maybe seeing the shadow again, Rolo might remember something.

She kept watching the two of them over the next month and a half. Rivalz had been right, when told that there was a Lelouch look-a-like in the school, and a girl at that, Shirley and Milly Ashford were almost instantly curious. Both of them seemed to have taken quite a liking to the distant boy. Mellanie couldn't understand how so many of the girls in the school found him strangely charismatic, to her he just seemed arrogant.

She was also surprised at just how easily Rolo had taken to him. She had spent much of her early life trying to prove to the boy that her being his friend was real, and with the simple rewrite of being his older brother, Lelouch seemed to simply follow right where her relationship with Rolo had ended. He was still so shy, and maybe a bit more insecure than she remembered him, but when the two of them were together Rolo just seemed so like how she remembered the two of them had been. It broke her heart to have him so close.

Mellanie sat in her last class staring distractedly through the window. She was trying to remember Nunnally. She knew Nunnalley was Lelouch's only real sibling, and somehow it seemed Rolo had been set up to take her place. She wondered for a minute if Lelouch was in some way taking her place with Rolo. From the beginning she had been aware of the resemblance between them and it bothered her, had he been sent to watch Lelouch because they knew he would be the best to act in the role of his little brother, counting on subconscious emotions and his buried memories to make him dependant on this 'older brother' that would take her place in his heart?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

Mellanie put everything back into her bag slowly trying to drag out her time at the school. She did this every day to avoid the rush in the halls, and hopefully the student council, she hadn't counted on anyone noticing this habit. After all, she had made it painfully clear to anyone who tried to befriend her that she wasn't there to socialize. So she didn't see it coming when Rivalz poked his head in the door and then called to the other council members outside.

"Hey it's this one, she's in here!" he called to the others excitedly. Mellanie cringed and rolled her eyes at herself getting caught so easily. Within moments the rest of the council was in the room. _At least_, she told herself, _Rolo is with them. _She had been toying with the idea of surrendering herself to the student council anyway. The possibility of seeming suspicious to someone looked like a small price to pay if it meant the end of everything she had been working towards, getting her friend back.

"Wow, you were right Rivalz," a girl with long red hair said, starring stupidly at her. Mellanie stood stiffly, stepping away from them.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me what all this is about?" she asked, letting the annoyance she felt creep into her voice.

"We've been trying to catch you all week!" Milly said excitedly. "You really do look just like Lelouch!"

"I'll assume you meant that as compliment." She answered expressionlessly, casually watching Rolo and Lelouch from where she stood by her desk, her bag in hand. "Now if you don't mind, could you tell me what this is about, I have somewhere I have to be."

"Ah, but we were going to take you to the student council," Rivalz said, looking disappointed.

"That's right," Milly told her, "We've decided to let you become a member of the student council, so no more shirking your duties." Milly smiled and motioned for Rivalz to grab the girl as she walked away again.

Mellanie stepped away from Rivalz as he went to grab her.

"I would much rather go on my own power if you don't mind." She didn't look at him and her voice was expressionless, nodding to Rolo and Lelouch to go first, she followed them out, Rivalz and Shirley following after her, making sure she didn't get away.

Milly led them out, back to the student council building where she'd had them all prepare a welcome party for her. She was led in and she sat down trying not to show her annoyance as the girls chattered over her about how much she looked like Lelouch while she watched Rolo trail after the boy himself, his 'older brother', from the corners of her eyes.

"Am I to understand that the only reason I'm being forced into the student council is because I resemble someone already here?" she asked Milly as she was chatting with Shirley.

"Well you don't have to make it sound like we're forcing you!" she said, looking somewhat angry at the sentiment.

"I apologize if I sound somewhat antagonistic, but I wasn't exactly given much choice, you did seek me out, and prepare without consideration that I might refuse." Mellanie answered, looking at the older girl expressionlessly, "But I would like to know if there is another reason for my being here other than to satisfy your curiosity."

"Geez, Mell, how did you manage not having anyone know who you are, you're mean enough to be known just for that." Rivalz said grinning at her. Mellanie stared at him expressionlessly until he began to fidget uncomfortably.

"Don't call me that." She said flatly, before standing and walking away from them. "I don't make friends often or easily, and I tend to avoid dealing with others, but since you've made the effort, I will do what I can for the student council."

She didn't sit back down with the others, but she stayed close enough to be considered at the party, technically. For the most part, her eyes never left Rolo. He seemed so happy, so like he was before she'd been forced to Japan. At least she could get close to him this way, acting as the shadow didn't seem to be helping, if she'd even been noticed. Now she only needed a way to make him remember her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

Mellanie was reluctantly happy to be a part of the student council, certainly it was less tiring than acting as the shadow, and now that she was so close to Rolo, without hiding in vents and pretending to be dramatic, she didn't really need to be the shadow so much any more. She was also learning more about the council members, the unfortunate side effect of which was that they also seemed to be learning something of her as well.

Milly Ashford and Shirley, the red haired girl, seemed to take the most interest in her, though she got along better with Nina, the angry depressed bookworm who hated anything to do with Zero, apparently he'd killed a friend of hers. Rolo was in the council only because Lelouch was, and it seemed that the main reason for Lelouch to be in the council was because Milly and Shirley had crushes on him.

In comparison, Milly and Shirley still thought she was interested in Lelouch, mostly because they were. After three months in the council, only Rivalz seemed to realize her interest was in Rolo. And it was only Nina who noticed her quickly deteriorated disposition.

As it happened, as happy as she was to be close to Rolo, he spent all of his time with Lelouch, still barely sparing her a glance. She had gone half out of her mind trying to find a way to make him remember her. The more she failed, the less hope she had that he would ever remember her. What a cruel joke they played, sending her to Ashford to be reunited with the only person to ever mean anything to her, and as far as they knew, neither of them would ever know it. It was more cruel what she'd done to herself.

Ages ago, when Mellanie had first invented the shadow, mostly as a game to play with Rolo, she would sneak around the palace in Brittania stealing scraps of food, blankets and old clothes to leave in V.v.'s orphanage, where Rolo and his other underage agents lived. She had been sneaking around one day when she found a small, strange device, from what she could tell a button to nothing, attached to nothing. When she'd found herself in Japan, all her memories told her she was Mellanie Adams, a britanian living in Japan, her father living in Britania for business, supporting her through a monthly allowance.

She felt as though she'd lost something, but she didn't know what it could have been. She spent weeks tearing apart the house trying to figure out what she'd lost. All she'd found was the mysterious button. In the end it was only a partial answer to her problem. It restored her memory, and set her on her quest to find Rolo. If only she could find the thing now.

Little more than three months after joining the student council she once again reinstated the shadow. This time paying more attention to her missions themselves, and keeping herself anonymous so that she wasn't caught. It seemed to fit that she continue to center her attention around children, this time playing hero to a nation of Japanese children rather than an orphanage, but she couldn't think of anyone else she would rather benifet from her missions. In a way, she was still doing the same thing she'd always done. Traipsing around the bureaucracy stealing food and things and leaving it for children who had no other way of getting the things they needed.

Physically and emotionally drained she would then change into her uniform and hope she got a few hours sleep before heading for school where she would watch her best friend follow his 'brother' from the sidelines while she pretended to be interested in the school council.


End file.
